COLIN CUSTER-MERRILL - 4 yo (2008) - Ocala FL

A judge on Wednesday sentenced Robert Custer to two consecutive life
terms in prison for kidnapping his ex-girlfriend and son two years ago.



Robert Custer scans the pool of potential jurors as they leave the
courtroom as his trial begins at the Marion County Courthouse.

It was the maximum sentence Custer, 47, could have received. The lowest permissible sentence was a
little more than 11 years. Prosecutors Jennifer Kipke and Tim McCourt
sought the maximum, arguing the defendant was a threat to the safety of
Rashel Merrill and their 6-year-old son unless he was kept behind bars
for the rest of his life.
Circuit Judge Edward Scott also sentenced Custer to a consecutive 30-year
sentence for carjacking. He was given 734 days of jail credit time served.
“I know I was going to have to do something and something significant,” Scott said in
an interview following the hearing.
The same judge presided over the five-day jury trial
last year. Custer fired his attorney during jury selection and
represented himself. A jury found him guilty as charged on two counts of
first-degree kidnapping and one count of carjacking.
Scott said Wednesday it was the
combination of testimony from the defendant, Merrill and her father at
the sentencing hearing that helped him arrive at his decision.
Merrill, who at trial went by
her married name of Pennell but has since switched back to her maiden
name, read aloud a letter. She said Custer was “erratic, obsessive,
twisted and very dark” as she requested a life sentence.
“He will stop at nothing, and
nothing will stop him, except bars,” she said.
Prosecutors allege that in June 2008, Custer
abducted Merrill and their son from Ocala during a scheduled hand-off of
the boy, then drove north, with the aid of zip ties to restrain his
ex-girlfriend.
Merrill escaped at a gas station in South Carolina. Custer made it up to
Virginia before he was detained by authorities. An Amber Alert for the
then-4-year-old Colin was triggered in the process.
The defendant leaned back in his
chair when the sentence was announced Wednesday and merely looked back
at his family members seated behind him. He asserted on the stand that
the trip to Virginia to visit his ill grandmother was not only planned
but “pleasant,” and that Merrill was a willing participant.
Custer had limited visitation
rights over his son following a January 2007 court order. He and Merrill
never married. He testified Wednesday that she did not honor his
court-ordered visitations on at least 22 occasions from January to May 2007.
She was also reluctant to acknowledge his paternity upon their son's birth.
“My whole interest in life was to get married, have a family, have a small farm, grow food, homeschool
[my children],” Custer said earlier in his testimony.
He said it was “disgraceful” how
he was brought to trial on first-degree kidnapping and carjacking
charges as he ranted about the legal system in Florida and flung
accusations against Pennell and her family.
“You people are misapplying the statutes and
damn well know it,” he said. “At no point did I intentionally commit a
crime.”
He had plenty of choice words for the court and prosecuting attorneys as he was led out
of the courtroom by a bailiff.
Defense attorney Melanie Kohler, who was retained for
the sentencing hearing, said she plans to file a notice of appeal. But
she said her client has already signaled his intention to have an
attorney from the Public Defender's Office be appointed to handle his
appeal. “This is just a tragic family law case that went bad,” Kohler
said afterward.